New driver - can employer force me to use my car if it’s snowing

caz_cardiff87

Hi all,

I’ve been scouring the internet but haven’t found much in relation to my question...

OK so yesterday my cousin text me on my lunch break and told me about the weather warnings for wales and i decided IF it was bad i wouldn’t be driving. I work in a hospital and had been put on a remote site which means covering other hospitals (basically you need your car to do the job there).

I called one of my senior colleagues and explained that being a new driver (not been driving 12 months yet!) and never having to deal with snow and ice, i was really nervous and very reluctant to practice my skills in morning traffic but obv would wait and see how bad it got before deciding, offered to find an alternative way of getting there i,e. walk or get a train close to the site.

Anyway, all i got back was ‘well i did it last year, just go slow, you’ll be fine’ etc...this was met with a lengthy discussion on facebook with 3 other colleagues who were all gun-ho about it all absolutely no understanding that
a) despite reading all the tips tricks etc of how to drive in those conditions, ultimately i’ve had 0 practice at it and in my mind, morning traffic and bad roads probably isn’t the best time to ‘have a go’.
b) if i wreck my car i can’t afford a new one (high insurance, recently graduated = living in overdraft and very little chance of getting finance let alone a payment scheme i can afford! If that car goes, i won’t be getting another one for a long time and they’ll have one less member of staff who can cover that site. c) i really don’t think it’s worth the risk, i’m not a nurse / doctor so if police are saying don’t drive, then fair play i say!

c) my tyres are currently at 2mm tread, it’s old, i don’t trust it entirely and seeing newer cars struggling really put me off.

along with some really useless advice e.g. keep a spade in the car and use some old carpet to stick under your wheels if you get stuck.... i have no spade (why would i when i don’t have a garden!?.... and my flat has wooden flooring throughout... so no carpet!)

Fast forward to this morning, heavy snow, roads are caked and i spend 30 minutes watching cars sliding past my flat. A colleague text me saying don’t worry, get there another way so i did, ah relief! Since then, a couple of my colleagues have made a point that they got in from out of town and have spent time posting pics of them behind the wheel driving in stupid conditions.

I just don’t understand this mentality of well if i did it there’s no reason for anyone else not to. Fair enough, if you know how to handle driving in it, go for it but why make other people feel like they have to potentially put themselves in a really risky situation?? I know it’s done now, and to be fair the one colleague i spoke to was more understanding this morning as she had also decided to ditch her car and walk but other’s talk like you let them down, one even said ‘oh i drove from there this morning, it took a while but it wasn’t that bad?.... wasn’t that bad? really, cos i saw 2 cars crash into parked cars and another on its side in a ditch.... what planet are these people on???

The way i see it, it’s your car, you pay for it and if you don’t want to risk driving it then you shouldn’t be pressured to, especially when you are willing to get in any other way possible. I know you can get winter tyres, chains and all sorts of kit to deal with snow and ice and trust me, i’ll gladly do that when i don’t have an mot due and other repairs to do on the car.

Has anyone else had this sort of ‘pressure’ from work, how have you dealt with it?

missile

... c) my tyres are currently at 2mm tread, ....

Get new tyres

caz_cardiff87

i am for my mot, but pay day is not till monday!

redux

I've sat with a friend driving, with years of experience, and he wasn't confident and couldn't cope; he just wanted to stand on the brakes much of the time, which meant the front wheels were locked and we were just skidding downhill on narrow country lanes

Some of today's accidents were by people with plenty of experience, for instance you can find photos of jack-knifed lorries on news websites

So I don't think anyone should be over-pressurised if they don't want to do this. Last year a physiotherapist rang and asked to cancel my appointment when the weather was poor and I was the only person booked that morning. I agreed without any fuss at all.

Can you get to work by public transport? I don't mean is it still actually running with the poor weather, but is there a feasible route?

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

You can return your licence to the DVLA.

interstellaflyer

To be honest, if you are not confident and your journey is not vital then don't do it, my boss told me Thursday not to risk it yesterday if it started snowing, I live in a rural area at the top of a hill, the council put villages down the bottom of the list of priorities so even 2 or 3" on the road can be a real problem.

leosayer

I think you did the right thing.

Recognising the limitations of your own skill and experience and your car is an important part of driving. It really is no fun being the pilot of a moving car that has no grip and potential very dangerous.

What car has wooden floors?

!!!!!! do not drive around in winter with 2mm tread. I assume you live in south wales, consider fitting winter or all season tyres and using those all year round if you are going to rely on your car in all weathers.

martinthebandit

Work can try to make you use your car but how are they going to know if you were able to get out of your drive due to someone else being stuck and blocking you in?

Although with your heroic help they managed to get going again just after the'rush hour' had finished, how spooky is that? Etc etc

Why with a bit of effort you could have stories about driving in snow etc that will outshine your colleagues pale attempts.

Of course your story will be a pile of bull s..t, just like theirs.

But hey, that's office life.

john_white

How do you expect to get experience driving in ice and snow if you refuse to try?

JethroUK

Bosses will ask you to do whatever they think you can cope with

You need to TELL your boss that you will NOT be driving to work because it's too dangerous, you will be coming in on public transport, IF it's running - and you will need to leave early to make sure you're home safe (then they KNOW you can't cope)

Sometime you just need to be assertive

To which they will say "OK" (they aint going to argue about it)

I was working 40 miles from home on Friday (day of snow warnings) and I never skive off work and I TOLD my boss that I wont be in if it's snowing - and she said thats Fine

In the morning it was fine so I drove in to work and TOLD her that if it starts snowing I need to go because I dont want to get stuck half way home - she said that was fine

I got all the work done in the morning that needed me to be on site, which just left paperwork - It started snowing at 2 o'clock and I simply told her I was going to set off. I asked her if she was OK with it (I want to be polite, but I AM going) and I offered to finish my days work in another department (in my home town)

I obviously need to consider her feelings and be polite, but the bottom line was I was always going home if it snowed

She said not to worry at all, and to go straight home

JethroUK

john_white wrote: »

How do you expect to get experience driving in ice and snow if you refuse to try?

Probably for the same reason she doesn't 'try' (practice) exiting her car through a window when it's 20' under water, or she doesn't 'practice' driving drunk

Driving in snow is not 'compulsory', so you dont NEED to experience it